1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to managing peripheral device usage for a computer and specifically to managing power levels of radio frequency peripheral devices according to a detected environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer systems may use many different types of user input devices. For example, computer systems may receive input from user input devices such as, but not limited to, a computer mouse, a keyboard, a microphone, a camera, a wireless pointing device, and a joystick. Because managing wires from different user input devices may be cumbersome, the computer system may use wireless, e.g., radio frequency (RF), signals to communicate with the user input device. However, user input devices using RF signals may require an independent power source (e.g., a battery) that may weaken over time. In addition, if more than one computer system is used within the range of the RF signal from the computer system and/or the user input device, RF signals from each computer system and/or user input device may overlap and interfere.
For example, if an RF computer mouse for one computer system is used too closely to a second computer system with an RF computer mouse, the RF signals from the RF computer mouse may be received by the second computer system and cause erroneous results on the second computer system. Computer system users may have to stop using RF user input devices when around other RF computer systems, or computer system users may need to space their computer systems enough apart to avoid RF overlap.